Villa Park man charged with thefts from elderly woman

A Villa Park man has been accused of taking more than $45,000 from an elderly woman for whom he was providing care, DuPage County authorities said.

William Sullivan, 59, remained in the county jail Friday, where he was being held in lieu of $150,000 bond. He turned himself in Wednesday, after a warrant for his arrest was issued, charging him with one count of financial exploitation of a person over 80 and one count of felony theft.

Authorities allege Sullivan wrote checks to himself that were drawn on the bank account of an 89-year-old Westmont woman. He had been the woman’s caretaker since 2006, authorities say. The woman’s nephew noticed discrepancies in her financial statements.

“The accusations against Mr. Sullivan are just disgraceful and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “Our elderly rely on others for their day to day living and consequently they may be more susceptible to scams such as what is alleged in this case.”